This is a preliminary timeline of people and events involved in or surrounding Ervin’s murder. I’m sure I’ll be making some changes to it, but that’s going to require a careful re-reading of all the police reports and newspaper articles.
Nov 16, 1905 — Ervin Oren Kaser born
Oct 1, 1911 — Casper Arnold Oveross born
Dec 13, 1914 — Ethel & Edith Knight born
Apr 25, 1933 — Ervin O. Kaser & Frances L. Dixon married 1:35pm Vancouver, WA
Dec 5, 1934 — Cap A. Oveross & Ethel J. Knight married 1:30pm Vancouver, WA
Jan 7, 1936 — Harvey W. Kaser & Edith M. Knight married Marion County, OR
Apr 24, 1936 — Colleen Marie Oveross born
Oct 21, 1939 — Ervin O. Kaser & Mary L. Calavan Huntley married Salem, OR
Early 1949 — Ames Hardware buys two scarce 30-30 rifles (#1538797 and #1541417)
March 5, 1949 — 30-30 rifle #1 sold to Cap Oveross by Marion Zahler at Ames Hardware
March 26, 1949 — 30-30 rifle #2 sold to Steven J. Zolotoff at Ames Hardware (#1541417)
November 1949 — Noah Wenger borrows Cap’s 30-30 rifle for elk hunting
November 1952 — Everett Kaser born
fall 1953 — Wayne Moore goes hunting with Cap and his 30-30 rifle
sometime 1954 — Jeff Kaser picks up 5 shell casing while Cap is target practicing
Aug 6, 1954 — Mary sues Ervin for divorce
Aug 20, 1954 — Cap sues Ethel for divorce
~Sep 1, 1954 — Cap, Officers DePeel & Jackson lie in field to watch Ervin at Ethel’s.
~Sep 1, 1954 — Cap states threat to Charles Hopkins that he’ll kill Ervin
Mid-Sep 1954 — Cap states threat to Harvey & Edith Kaser that he’ll kill Ervin
~Aug-Oct 1954 — Calvin & Wilma Kaser sees Ervin and Ethel Oveross in Salem
~Oct 1, 1954 — Cap target shoots using 30-30 rifle with Frank Dedrick
~Oct 1, 1954 — Wayne Moore sees Cap’s 30-30 carbine rifle
Oct 1954 — Cap & Ethel divorce is final
Oct-Dec 1954 — Cap states threat to Robert Barnes that he’ll kill Ervin
~Christmas, 1954 — Dan Gilham sees 30-30 rifle at Cap’s cabin #6
Thurs, Feb 17, 1955
9:30-9:45am — Cap Oveross shoots a rifle at Huddleston lumber yard
12:00pm — Cap Oveross leaves work near Aurora
7:30pm — Ethel Oveross leaves home to meet Ervin
7:40-7:50pm — Cap arrives at Oveross home, visits with Colleen & Dan
7:45pm — Ervin & Ethel Oveross meet at Abiqua covered bridge
8:10pm — Cap leaves Oveross residence
— Robert Barnes follows Cap north from Oveross residence
— Gerald Hoyd tends bar at Town Tavern, no Cap Oveross
8:15pm — Mary Seward sees Cap at Frank’s Grocery on west Main
8:30pm — Cap buys gas from Dennis Legard, no rifle seen in car
8:40-9:05pm — Car arrives, motor running 5 minutes, at cabin #6 (picking up guns?)
9:00pm — Ray Ruscher at Shorty’s Tavern (Cap is there or arrives)
9:35pm — Rod Oster arrives at Shorty’s Tavern (Cap is there)
9:50-10:00pm — Rod Oster talks with Cap Oveross at Shorty’s Tavern
10:15-10:30pm — Rod Oster leaves Shorty’s (Cap still there)
10:30pm — Ray Ruscher leave’s Shorty’s (Cap already left)
— Mannie and Connie Kellerhal go to bed.
— Ethel Oveross returns home
— Rod Oster arrives at Town House Tavern
— Dan Gilham heads home from Colleen’s, sees Cap’s car heading north
10:35pm — Oveross girls return home from Salem skating party
10:45-10:50pm — Waldo Rue passes Ervin’s house on his way home
10:45-10:55pm — Ervin pulls into driveway at Rt 3 Box 115A.
— Killer’s dark blue or black Ford sedan stops on road shortly after.
— Ervin is shot.
— Kellerhals see the last three muzzle flashes and the car.
— Killer’s car departs heading south.
— Ted Finlay hears shots, sees car pass south on highway
— Edith Kaser’s pickup passes by.
— Ethel Oveross hears 4 shots, car going south, Edith’s pickup
— Kellerhals call Ervin, then Melvin, clock chimes 11:00pm
— Melvin goes over, sees Ervin dead, calls Harley DePeel
11:00pm — Rob Riches passes on his way home
— Harley DePeel notifies County Sheriff’s Office
— Cloreta calls Calvin Kaser (and probably other Kaser family members)
— Constable Harley DePeel arrives
— Cap arrives in Gilham driveway, covers up something in back seat
— Cap tells Dan Gilham Ervin is dead & Dan is his alibi, leaves.
11:05pm — Silverton officer James D. Painter informed of shooting
11:13pm — Painter notifies Sheriff Young & Silverton Chief R. R. Main
11:15pm — James Painter checks taverns for Cap Oveross, not found
11:17pm — James Painter arrives at Holland Auto Court #6
11:23pm — Sheriff Young notified
11:25pm — Deputy Sheriff Richard Boehringer arrives
— Calvin and Harvey Kaser arrive at scene
11:40pm — Sheriff Young arrives in Silverton to pick up Chief Main
~11:45pm — Officers check Town House Tavern for Cap Oveross, not there
Fri, Feb 18, 1955
12:10am — Sheriff Young and Chief Main arrive at scene
12:15am — Painter, Bethschieder, Yates enter Holland #6 (no Cap, no guns in sight)
12:35am — State Police Private Robert W Dunn sent to Ervin’s.
12:45am — Gerald Hoyt sees Cap Oveross arrive at Town House Tavern
12:55am — Coroner Leston Howell arrives at scene
1:10am — Pvt Dunn arrives at scene, contacts Sheriff Young
1:20am — Cap Oveross leaves Town House Tavern, goes to cabin #6
1:30am — Rod Oster leaves Town House Tavern (no Cap Oveross)
1:55am — Cap Oveross picked up by Sheriff Young at cabin #6 (shotgun in corner)
3:30am — Cap Oveross is questioned, claims:
1) was in two taverns all evening
2) wasn’t in the area of crime anytime that night
3) never owned a 30-30 rifle
5:30am — Questioning of Oveross ends
am — Harvey & Melvin notify mother Sarah Kaser of Ervin’s death
11:00am — Cap Oveross is returned to his cabin in Silverton
— Deputy Boehringer takes Ervin’s car to Salem for storage
— Dan Gilham takes Cap & Colleen Oveross to attorney
~7:00pm — Cap Oveross moves to brother Henry’s house 315 S Water
Sun, Feb 20, 1955 — Mary Kaser moves back into her & Ervin’s house.
Mon, Feb 21, 1955 2:00pm — Ervin’s funeral in Silverton, buried at Belcrest in Salem
Tue, Feb 22, 1955
8:05pm — Cap Oveross is arrested and his car impounded
10:00pm — Oveross is booked into Marion County Jail
Wed, Feb 23, 1955 10:00am — Oveross is arraigned in District Court
Mon, Feb 28, 1955 9:30am — Grand Jury hears testimony, Oveross released
Thu, Mar 10, 1955 — Ames ledger sheet shows sale of 30-30 to Oveross Mar 5, 1949
Sun, May 8, 1955 3:00pm — Larry Wacker pulls 30-30 rifle #1538797 from Pudding River
Tue, May 10, 1955 — Confirmed: 4 of casings from Jeff Kaser (1954) fired by murder weapon
Fri, May 13, 1955 — Confirmed: Rifle #1538797 fired the murder bullets
Mon, May 16, 1955 — Grand Jury indicts Casper Arnold Oveross for murder
Mon, May 16, 1955 5:20pm — Call from Colleen Oveross residence 468 N Winter Street phone# 38146 to Lloyd Oveross at Happy Camp, CA, finally put through at 7:20pm on May 17th.
Fri, May 20, 1955 — Oveross located in Fairbanks, Alaska
Wed, May 26, 1955 — Sheriff Young and Deputy Hoffman leave for Fairbanks
Sun, May 29, 1955 — Young, Hoffman and Oveross return to Salem
Tue, June 1, 1955 — Oveross pleads not guilty, trial date set for June 21st
June 21, 1955 10:00am — Trial begins
July 14, 1955 5:26pm — Oveross found not guilty, released
sometime-1955 — Dan Gilham & Colleen Oveross marry
1958-1960 — Wilma & Everett Kaser encountered Cap on Silverton street corner
~1975-1976 — Cap bragged to Harvey Kaser’s youngest son that he killed Ervin
Jan 24, 1981 — Casper Oveross died (buried Valley View Cemetery, Silverton OR)
1988 — Mary (Calavan Huntley Kaser) marries Albert Cianni
Sep 30, 1998 — Ethel Jane Oveross died
Apr 4, 1999 — Mary Calavan Huntley Kaser Cianni died
Oct 5, 2013 — Colleen Oveross Gilham died (buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery)
And that’s it for a while. Now, I have to assemble, compose, write, edit and polish “the final chapter.” It will contain a few later events, thoughts by myself and others about all of this, speculation about the trial and juries and social standards, and dwell a bit upon how one action in selfish anger can have very significant effects upon the lives of hundreds of people over decades and generations to come.
Blogically yours,
Everett